Currents

At a time when our most plentiful and affordable energy source is at a crossroads, the Obama adminis­tration has pulled the plug on FutureGen 2.0., which everyone hoped would be America’s first near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant. The FutureGen concept was initiated as part of the Clinton Administration’s Vision 21 program and has enjoyed strong […]

Final federal regulations to control carbon dioxide emissions from new, modified and existing electric generating units will be delayed until mid-summer, the Environmental Protection Agency said Jan. 7. NRECA CEO Jo Ann Emerson said EPA should use the extra time to study the 1.2 million comments that flooded the agency from advocates for electric cooperatives […]

In its recent Short-Term Energy Outlook report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) made its first forecasts of energy supply and demand in 2016. Demand is expected to increase slightly in 2016, while the share of coal-fired generation continues to fall. EIA expects residential retail sales of electricity to decline by 0.3 percent in 2015, […]

Did you know that the United Nations named 2015 the International Year of Light? Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the invention of improved light-emitting diodes, ­better known as LED lamps. Yet, many people switch on the lights without knowing where the elec­tricity comes from, how it is made, or the impact […]

This year could be a tremendous year for community solar system development. “The biggest trend for solar at utilities is community solar,” says Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) Senior Research Manager Becky Campbell, co-author of the report “Expanding Solar Access Through Utility-led Community Solar.” Community solar is a shared renewable ­program that allows co-op members […]

USDA Rural Development has made investments to help 493 rural businesses in Illinois thrive and grow. USDA invests in everything from advanced biofuels manufacturing ­facilities to food hubs to help businesses, many of them small, ­capitalize on emerging markets for rural-made products. USDA Rural Development’s goal is to promote a dynamic business environment and create […]

IHI Turbo America is adding production to their ­current automotive and marine parts manufacturing, adding 30 new jobs at the Shelbyville plant in 2015. The expansion was made possible with a $2 million loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program to Shelby Electric Cooperative. The new assembly line is expected to be […]

The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, in ­cooperation with the Illinois Community College Board, several community colleges, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and MyCreditsTransfer, recently completed a collaborative project to grant veteran and military students appropriate academic credit for the education and training they gained in military service. In this “Making Military Training Count” […]

At the Ball-Chatham School Board meeting on Nov. 24, the ­district received an energy efficiency grant check for $50,000 for a new geothermal heating and cooling ­system for Glenwood Middle School. The grant was obtained by Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative (RECC), through the GeoAlliance program. GeoAlliance is a collaboration between the Association of Illinois Electric […]